Overtime, Working Hours and Leave in Saudi Arabia (2026)

Hours, overtime and leave feed every monthly payroll in Saudi Arabia. The rules sit in Articles 98 to 118 of the Labour Law, the detail in the Implementing Regulations the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) published in 2025, and the fines in MHRSD's Ministerial Resolution 112377.

In short: the limit is eight actual working hours a day or 48 a week, cut for Muslim workers in Ramadan to six a day or 36 a week. Overtime is paid at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage or, with the worker's agreement, as paid leave of at least an hour and a half per overtime hour, up to 720 overtime hours a year unless the worker agrees to more. Friday is the paid weekly rest day and cannot be bought out. Annual leave is at least 21 days, 30 after five continuous years, paid in advance. Sick leave is 30 days on full pay, 60 on three-quarters and 30 unpaid in a year. Breaking the hours, rest or leave rules is fined SAR 1,000 to SAR 3,000 per worker affected.

This guide is for employers, HR and payroll teams. It follows the law as MHRSD publishes it and says so where the law leaves a point open.

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Working hours: the limits

Article 98 lets the employer choose a standard: no more than eight actual working hours a day on the daily standard, or 48 a week on the weekly standard. The choice matters, because on the weekly standard the overtime hours are the ones above the weekly figure (Article 107).

Breaks are not actual working hours. During them the worker is not under the employer's authority and cannot be required to stay on site (Article 102). Twelve hours on site is therefore not twelve hours of work.

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Working hours in Ramadan

Article 98 reduces actual working hours in Ramadan for Muslims to no more than six a day or 36 a week. MHRSD's model work organisation regulation, annexed to the 2025 Implementing Regulations, says the same: eight hours a day, reduced to six in Ramadan for Muslim workers. The law states the reduction for Muslim workers only; for non-Muslim workers the ordinary limits continue unless the contract or work regulations give more.

Hours above the Ramadan limit are hours above the Article 98 limit, and row 41 of Resolution 112377 fines an employer, per worker, for exceeding Article 98 without assigning overtime. Set the Ramadan roster and any overtime assignments before the month starts.

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Overtime: the limits and the paperwork

Article 106 lists the cases in which the employer need not observe the hours limits in Article 98, the break rule in Article 101 or the Friday rest day:

• annual inventory, budget preparation, liquidation, closing the accounts, preparing for reduced-price sales and for seasons, for no more than 30 days a year;
• preventing a dangerous accident, repairing its damage, or averting a definite loss of perishable materials;
• unusual pressure of work;
• holidays, seasons, occasions and seasonal work specified by ministerial decision.

Even then, actual working hours may not exceed ten a day or 60 a week. Article 22 of the Implementing Regulations caps overtime at 720 hours a year, which may be exceeded with the worker's consent; MHRSD's guidance page on overtime repeats the figure.

MHRSD's model work organisation regulation adds the paperwork: overtime is assigned in writing or electronically by the person responsible in the establishment, stating the hours and the days, and overtime pay is due at the end of the month in which it was assigned.

Under Article 107, overtime is every hour above the weekly figure on the weekly standard, and every hour worked on "holidays and official vacations" (in the Arabic, العطل والأعياد).

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How overtime is calculated

Article 107(1) sets the rate: an additional wage for each overtime hour "equivalent to the hourly wage plus 50% of the employee's basic wage".

Read with the definitions in Article 2, the two parts have different bases. The 50% is on the basic wage, which Article 2 defines as everything paid for the work under the contract plus periodic increments. The first part is "the hourly wage", and Article 2 defines "wage" as the actual wage: the basic wage plus the other increases due, such as allowances the contract or work regulations set for the work, and commission. That is our reading of the text; MHRSD has not published a worked calculation.

The Law does not say how to turn a monthly wage into an hourly one. Article 2 defines a month as 30 days unless the contract or work regulations say otherwise.

Worked example, for illustration only. The figures are invented; the method follows our reading of Articles 2 and 107. If your contract or work regulations set a divisor, use theirs.

An employee on the eight-hour daily standard earns a basic wage of SAR 6,000, a housing allowance of SAR 1,500 and a transport allowance of SAR 500, both paid in cash under the contract: an actual wage of SAR 8,000. They work ten overtime hours in the month.

Two common shortcuts give other answers. Paying 1.5 times the basic hourly rate gives SAR 37.50 an hour, leaving the allowances out of the first part. Paying 1.5 times the actual hourly rate gives SAR 50.00, putting the allowances into the 50% as well. The gap grows with the share of pay in allowances, so write the method into your work regulations and apply it to everyone.

Overtime also sits apart from two other bases. GOSI's employer FAQ leaves it out of the contributory wage (see the GOSI contributions guide), and Article 2's list does not name it in the wage for end of service, on which the end-of-service guide states no rule.

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Time off instead of overtime pay

With the worker's consent, Article 107 lets the employer give paid compensatory leave instead of overtime pay, an option the 2025 amendments to the Labour Law added from 19 February 2025. Article 22 bis of the Implementing Regulations sets the terms:

In the example above, ten overtime hours would earn at least 15 hours of paid leave.

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Groups with their own hours rules

Article 108 takes four groups out of Articles 98 and 101, and Article 23 of the Implementing Regulations sets their limits:

Part-time workers are covered too: Article 27 of the Implementing Regulations applies the Law's rules on leave, weekly rest, official holidays and overtime to them.

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Weekly rest

Friday is the weekly rest day for all workers (Article 104). The employer may substitute another day for some workers after notifying the competent labour office, and must let them perform their religious duties. The rest day is on full pay, lasts at least 24 consecutive hours, and may not be replaced by a cash payment.

In places far from towns, and in work that must run continuously, weekly rest may be accumulated for up to eight weeks if the employer and workers agree and MHRSD approves (Article 105).

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Public holidays

Article 112 gives every worker paid leave on the holidays the Regulations list. Article 24 of the Implementing Regulations lists four:

Where a holiday overlaps the weekly rest day, the worker gets the same number of days before or after it. Annual leave is extended by any holiday days inside it. During sick leave, the holiday days are paid in full whatever the sick-pay rate. National Day or Founding Day falling inside an Eid holiday earns no extra day.

Every hour worked on these days is overtime under Article 107. The holidays, and sick leave, are also left out of a probation period (Article 19 of the Implementing Regulations).

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Annual leave

Articles 109 to 111 set the entitlement:

• At least 21 days a year, and at least 30 once the worker has completed five continuous years with the employer.
• Paid in advance. The Law's word is "wage", which Article 2 defines as the actual wage.
• Taken in the year it is due. It cannot be waived, or exchanged for cash while the worker is employed.
• Scheduled by the employer to suit the work or in rotation, with at least 30 days' notice of the date.
• Postponement. The worker may carry days to the next year with the employer's agreement. The employer may postpone leave for up to 90 days after the year it was due; beyond that it needs the worker's written consent, and never past the end of the following year.
• On leaving, untaken leave is paid, including a proportion for part of a year (Article 111). The final exit and offboarding guide puts it into the final settlement.

Sick leave that starts during annual leave pauses the annual leave, which resumes afterwards (Article 26 of the Implementing Regulations).

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Sick leave

Article 117 entitles a worker whose illness is proven to sick leave within one year of:

The days count whether continuous or broken up, and the year runs from the first day of sick leave, not from 1 January or the employment anniversary. MHRSD's model work organisation regulation asks for a medical certificate from the establishment's doctor or an approved medical body, and lets the worker join annual leave to sick leave. A rest day falling during sick leave is not given back.

During any leave in this chapter the worker may not work for another employer; if the employer proves it, it may withhold or recover the leave pay (Article 118).

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Fines for getting it wrong

MHRSD's Ministerial Resolution 112377 (dated 21/8/1447H) sets the general schedule of labour violations, with fines banded by establishment size. The rows on hours, rest, leave and pay, read from the resolution's page images:

The multiplier is what makes these expensive. As an illustration, a 60-person establishment that kept its Muslim workers on eight-hour days through Ramadan without assigning overtime would be exposed under row 41 at SAR 3,000 for each of them. Article 229 of the Labour Law allows a penalty to be doubled for a repeat violation.

Workers have their own route too. Under Article 94, where wages are deducted without a lawful basis or paid late without a legitimate reason, the labour court may order repayment and fine the employer up to twice the amount. All 57 general rows are on our labour violations and penalties page, and the wage protection guide covers the Mudad deadlines.

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How SCPL handles this for clients

SCPL, with offices in Dammam and Riyadh, runs payroll and HR administration for companies in Saudi Arabia. Your employees stay on your establishment; SCPL administers the function under Saudi labour law.

• Monthly payroll. Salaries, allowances, overtime and deductions calculated to your own policy and checked before the run closes.
• Leave and attendance. Entitlement accrual, balances and attendance records tracked consistently across the workforce.
• Wage protection and GOSI. The wage file built from the payroll run and reconciled before submission, and GOSI records kept aligned with actual payroll.
• Contracts and employee files, maintained to the standard an inspection expects.
• Final settlement. End-of-service, leave encashment and outstanding dues calculated to law when an employee leaves.

The service pages set out the scope: payroll outsourcing, HR outsourcing, GOSI, WPS and Mudad compliance and onboarding and offboarding. For a leaver's award, the end-of-service calculator applies the formula. To discuss your payroll, send SCPL your headcount and where your employees are based.

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FAQ

How is overtime calculated under the Saudi Labour Law?

Article 107 sets it at the hourly wage plus 50% of the basic wage. Article 2 defines "wage" as the actual wage, basic plus allowances and other increases due, so read together the hourly part comes from the actual wage and the 50% from the basic wage. The Law sets no divisor; Article 2 treats a month as 30 days unless the contract or work regulations say otherwise.

What are working hours in Ramadan in Saudi Arabia?

For Muslim workers, no more than six actual hours a day or 36 a week (Article 98). The Law does not reduce hours for non-Muslim workers. Exceeding the limit without assigning overtime falls under row 41 of Resolution 112377, at SAR 1,000 to SAR 3,000 per worker.

How many days of annual leave does an employee get?

At least 21 days a year, and at least 30 after five continuous years with the employer (Article 109). It is paid in advance, taken in the year it is due, and cannot be exchanged for cash during employment; untaken days are paid on leaving (Article 111).

How does sick leave work?

Within one year counted from the first day of sick leave: 30 days on full pay, 60 on three-quarters pay and 30 unpaid, continuous or not (Article 117). The illness must be proven, and MHRSD's model work regulation names a certificate from the establishment's doctor or an approved medical body.

Can we give time off instead of paying overtime?

Yes, with the worker's consent: at least one and a half hours of paid leave per overtime hour, timed by the employer within 60 days unless agreed otherwise, up to 30 days a year, and paid out if untaken when the worker leaves (Article 22 bis of the Implementing Regulations).

Is work on a public holiday or Eid paid as overtime?

Yes. Article 107 counts every hour worked on holidays and official vacations as overtime. The Regulations list four days each for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and one day each for National Day and Founding Day.

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Official sources

Verify current requirements directly with the authorities — rules and fees in this area change, and the official portal is always ahead of any guide, including this one.

• MHRSD — Labour Law, Articles 89 to 118: wages, working hours, rest and leave
• MHRSD — Labour Law, Articles 89 to 118 (Arabic)
• MHRSD — Labour Law, Article 2 definitions
• MHRSD — Labour Law, employment of women (Article 151)
• MHRSD — Labour Law, penalties (Article 229)
• MHRSD — Overtime hours
• MHRSD — Implementing Regulations of the Labour Law and its annexes (2025, Arabic)
• MHRSD — Ministerial Resolution 112377, schedule of labour violations and penalties (Arabic)